‘Too Old for This BS’: Veteran Cop Charged After Years of Heavy-Handed Policing

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A veteran South Carolina law enforcement officer has returned to the private sector after a well-documented tenure of excessive force allegations ended in criminal charges, following a referral and investigation by agents with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Since being released on his own recognizance last month, David Sean Jordan has faced renewed scrutiny — as past use-of-force records resurface, exposing potential civil risk for the agency that last employed him.

On April 22, 2025, Jordan was charged with misconduct in office and third-degree assault and battery for his handling of a detainee while serving with the Springdale Police Department (SPD) — a small agency tasked with patrolling the western edge of Lexington County, S.C.

According to probable cause affidavits, the 51-year-old “willfully and unlawfully” injured a man during a police investigation by grabbing him by the throat and neck area — despite the fact the man was already restrained in handcuffs at the time of the alleged assault.

Separation papers filed with the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy (SCCJA) have since painted an even clearer picture of what allegedly happened that day.

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“Jordan knocked the subject to the ground and pushed his head into the ground several times,” SPD Captain William Lorick wrote in a detailed filing to the academy. “[He] used excessive force on the subject while EMS was attempting to render aid.”

According to Lorick, Jordan then yanked the detainee off the ground by his handcuffs while grabbing him around the neck — forcing the man’s head down toward the pavement. SPD received two formal complaints from agencies present at the scene, Lorick noted.

Jordan, who began his public safety career with Richland County 911 in 1998, was terminated 13 days later for misconduct — following what may have been his final act of excessive force.

But for members of the law enforcement community familiar with Jordan — and the sheriff’s office that once employed him — his criminal charges came as “no surprise.”

During his time with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), Jordan was the subject of multiple use-of-force reviews — most notably in 2019, when a former sergeant flagged a series of violent encounters and forwarded them to newly elected Sheriff Lee Boan.

One report detailed an incident in which Jordan deployed his taser on a man who was already lying face down with his hands raised. The sergeant concluded his “use of a taser… was not justified,” describing the encounter as an “excessive and unnecessary use of force.”

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In another case, Jordan drew his service weapon during a vehicle pursuit. While the sergeant stopped short of calling it excessive, he flagged the action as tactically unsound, writing “the ballistic capabilities of” Jordan’s duty weapon through a windshield were “at best poor and ineffective.”

According to additional files provided to FITSNews, that same pursuit ended in a physical confrontation, where “two punches seem to be an unnecessary use of force” which the sergeant believed “may have been avoided if Deputy Jordan had not rushed to custody.”

In a separate incident involving a detained adult male, Jordan was recorded using both hands to grab the man by the neck and forcibly escort him from a room. The sergeant noted Jordan then shoved the man’s face with his left hand while holding his arm with the other.

Yet another report described Jordan confronting a teen who mocked him while in handcuffs. Jordan responded, “I’m a grown-ass man and you’re a fucking boy,” before grabbing the teen by the neck and slamming his face onto the windshield of his patrol car.

No use-of-force report was ever filed for that incident, according to internal documents. 

Yet, according to separation papers provided by the SCCJA, Jordan was terminated from KCSO in January 2020 for reasons not involving misconduct — leaving him free to remain certified and, ultimately, land another job in law enforcement.

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He quietly resurfaced months later at the Springdale Police Department, where he remained on duty for around four years — until his termination in November 2024, just weeks after the incident that led to his arrest.

“Hurts but oh so true the last [two] years,” Jordan wrote on Facebook the day he was terminated. “You learn who your friends are real quick when life hits you the hardest. Too old for this BS in my life.”

Amidst a pending criminal investigation, Jordan went on to describe 2024 as “devastating to say the least,” but insisted life hadn’t “beat [him] down hard enough,” adding: “Come on 2025, bring on the next chapter.”

Judicial records suggest that ‘next chapter’ is here.

The lack of disciplinary action against Jordan stands in stark contrast to the case of former KCSO deputy Johnathan Goldsmith, who was convicted of second-degree assault and battery and misconduct in office for an unrelated excessive force incident in October 2020.

Goldsmith — whose actions cost the county at least $1.5 million in lawsuit payouts — is currently serving a one-year sentence in the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC).

Unlike Goldsmith, who was found guilty by a jury of his peers in September 2024, Jordan remains innocent until proven otherwise.

His case will be prosecuted by the office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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